Flowers Of Despair
by violets-are-violet
Summary: Hunting partners Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are in for a big surprise when the time for the 74th Hunger Games comes around. When they are both put into the arena to fight to the death, who is the person back home trying to sabatoge them?
1. Something More

**1. Something More**

I kneel down to check the tracks of the animal I am hunting in the woods. It's a deer, I can tell that by the hoof prints. As I stand up to continue the hunt I hear footsteps behind me. The footsteps are so quiet they can only come from one who has spent their life in the woods.

_Peeta, _I think.

Peeta is the one person I can trust with my life. The first time we met, I was only 12, him being 14, and I was checking out one of his intricately carved spears that I came across one cold dreary day after my father's death in the mines.

After his death, every day seemed cold and dreary. Like there was no point in trying to survive. But there was. I had to keep going to keep my mother and Prim alive. I had to. My father would have wanted that.

But that day in the forest, the day I met Peeta changed my life in ways that I wouldn't have even been able to imagine. As I picked up the spear that day, examining the craftiness of the design, I heard a voice behind me,

"Stealing is punishable by death, you know."

When I heard this, I whipped around, expecting a Peacekeeper, but only finding a young man, only a couple years older. He was handsome too. Ashy blonde hair, glittering blue eyes, and a strong build. He looked angry, but I could tell he wouldn't really hurt me- or I hoped.

"I wasn't stealing", I replied, "I was just looking at your spear. Did you make it? It's beautiful."

When I mentioned it, the anger faded from his eyes, and caution replaced it. "My father made it. Before…." He couldn't finish, and the pain I saw was clear- his father had died in the same mine explosion as my father.

I tried changing the subject. "What's your name?" I ask. He looks away to clear the pain and looks back with a forced smile. It's a beautiful smile, so calm. "Peeta. Yours?" he replies. I smile back at him. It is the first time since father's death that I have. "I'm Katniss."

Peeta starts laughing wildly, and then looks at me mischievously. "Well, it's nice to meet you Cat Piss. I hope we can be friends." I glare at him and he just winks and walks over to me. He can easily see the small bow and sheath of arrows my father made.

He ogles. "May I?" He asks, reaching for them. I nod and say, "Sure. Just remember, stealing is punishable by death." He laughs and looks over them, asking questions. And just like that, we had an unspoken promise to one another- 'You watch my back, I'll watch yours'. Ever since we have been inseparable. Best friends. Always looking out for the other, and helping take care of their families.

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><p>As I turn around to see who is walking towards me, a bag of candies lands by my feet. I look up, and Peeta is watching me with laughter dancing in his eyes. I smile at him and pick up the candy. "How much did these cost you, Peeta?"<p>

He walks over carrying three squirrels and a turkey. "Just two rabbits," he replies. "I think the shopkeeper at the candy shop is being nicer today, considering the occasion…" He trails off and looks at me. Then I remember.

Today is the day of the reaping. The annual drawing of the names for the Hunger Games. It happens every year, and every year I hate it more. I only reply, "Oh yeah, the reaping." He laughs and comes over to hug me. Peeta and I are very close.

The first time I realized I loved him was when he carried me home when I almost drowned in the lake. He picked me up in his arms, and looked so worried and so caring, I knew he was the one for me. Only about a month ago did he tell me how he felt about me. That he loved me too. And more than in the friend way. We became a couple right away, and are more inseparable than before.

As he hugs me, he whispers in my ear, "I love you Katniss." I look up at him.

"I love you too Peeta. And if either one of us gets picked, I promise to take care of your family."

Peeta leans closer. "I know you will Katniss. And I will do the same for you. Always."

Peeta then does the unimaginable. He leans down and kisses me on the lips. It's the first time we have ever shared a kiss. Of course, I always dreamed of kissing Peeta, but we never have. The kiss is in every way as magical as I thought it would be.

We stand there, embracing and sharing wonderful kisses until we break apart and Peeta takes my hand, smiles, and says, "I love you. Always. Now let's go get ready for the reaping." I stop him from walking further, and stand on my tiptoes to kiss him again.

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><p><strong>an: i live for your reviews. so, pretty please with a cherry on top? :)**


	2. The Unthinkable

**2. The Unthinkable**

Peeta and I walked into District 12's square hand in hand, happy even with the reaping being today. I knew we were a bit early, but I didn't care. The more time I had with Peeta the better. Although the odds of either of us getting picked for the Games was 1 to 1000, but you never know. Every year the tributes are surprised about getting picked even though it's random.

The only ones that are prepared for the Games are the Career tributes. The Careers train their whole lives for the Games and some are even excited about going. They even volunteer; something that no one has ever done in District 12. Careers only come from Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and sometimes 5- all the rich districts.

As we enter the square, small crowds of people are walking in as well. Most of them look stressed, or angry that the Capitol forces children to fight to the death. There are also the miners, the men and women who risk their lives to earn money for their families no matter what the danger.

Children from the ages 12 to 18 looked frightened as their mothers and fathers escort them to the roped off areas for the reaping. Peeta and I walk closer and suddenly he lets go of my hand and turns to me, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead. He whispers "I love you" one more time before walking off toward the boys' roped off area.

I stare after him wishing he wouldn't have left but know that he had to. I walk over to the girls' area and stand next to my little sister Prim. This is her first reaping and she is as scared as ever. Her name is only entered once, but the odds are never in anyone's favor. I put my arm around her shoulders and hold her hand in my other hand.

She smiles her thanks and then turns her head toward the stage as the mayor is making the long, boring speech about the history of Panem, our country. No one listens anymore, as we all know the story of the Dark Ages and how the Capitol took over. "…and now we come together for the annual reaping for the 74th Hunger Games!" The mayor's happy charade seemed a little forced to me.

Effie Trinket, a Capitol woman who is the escort for the tributes ,comes onstage announcing her presence in a giddy voice. She then introduces our only living Victor: Haymitch Abernathy- the most famous drunk in our district. Also the most snarky, annoying, and arrogant person in the district.

He stumbles onstage holding a bottle of white liquor and wearing dirty ripped pants and no shirt. No _shirt!_ Seriously, who does that? Especially with the amount of chest hair the guy has. Seriously. Gross.

He attempts to give Effie a hug, but just messes up her hair (or wig?) and laughs loudly. Effie straightens herself and walks over to the reaping ball. She trills, "Ladies first!" and shoves her hand into the enormous amount of little papers containing names. I can only wonder who will be chosen. I squeeze Prim's hand, and I think wildly._ Not Primrose Everdeen, not Primrose Everdeen_.

But when Effie picks a piece of paper and reads it, it isn't Primrose Everdeen. It is Katniss Everdeen.

_ME._

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><p><strong>an: review for me? :)**


	3. The Reaping

**4. The Reaping**

_Me_. I was the one to be tribute for these Games. I hear a faint gasp from Peeta across the square, a cry from my mother somewhere in the audience, and a "No!" from Prim who was standing beside me, holding my hand as if to never let go. I walk up to the stage, and see Peeta with a single tear rolling down his cheek.

I immediately know what he is going to do. He is so easy to read. I know that when it comes to the boys, no matter who gets picked, he will volunteer. To _protect _me. He is so caring, yet so reckless, wanting to risk his life for me. Effie asks for any volunteers and I can see Prim almost raising her hand, but I give her a death stare. There is no way in hell that my little sister will volunteer for me.

She puts her hand down and lowers her head, crying in silence. I look around, looking for people to volunteer, secretly not wanting them to. Secretly not wanting anyone to risk their lives for me. Effie starts talking again, "Okay, well I guess there aren't any volunteers. Please sit down, dear," Effie commands sweetly.

I sit, scanning the crowd and managing to catch Peeta's eye. Effie goes on, "Time for the gentlemen!"

She walks over to the boys' reaping ball. All I can do is stand there, looking into Peeta's beautiful eyes, the eyes I trust. Effie pulls out a slip of paper and calls out, "Gale Hawthorne!"

Effie looks around, and a tall muscular young man walks forward. I have seen him before, around the Seam, but he never speaks a word to me. He is dark skinned with grey eyes like the rest of us Seam people. He strides onto the stage as Effie asks for volunteers. Immediately, Peeta calls out and comes onstage as well.

I know that I won't be able to forgive him for this, but I still love him for being so caring and loving. Effie says, "Oh, this is wonderful! The two lovebirds from District 12!" _Of course_, I think. _Everyone knows about me and Peeta_. Peeta and I shake hands, and instead of letting go, we turn to the audience holding hands, the pure image of love.

Effie invites Haymitch, who will be our mentor, onstage and pushes him over to meet us. He stinks of liquor and vomit, and it's all I can do to not turn my head and hold my nose. He puts his smelly arm around me and exclaims, " Look at her!... I like her!"

He turns and staggers around the stage. "Lots of…. Spunk!" He points to the audience, "More than you!" Then he points to the cameras, recording every second of the reaping, "More than YOU!"

My eyes go wide and I can see Peeta's go wide too. Was Haymitch really discriminating the Capitol on camera? I think he was. Haymitch then tries to get off stage, but forgets where the stairs are and takes a dive, head first, into the crowd. Three or four Peacekeepers come and haul him away and then Peeta and I are taken to the Justice Building for our last goodbyes to our families, friends, or to anyone.

I give Peeta a quick hug before they drag him away to another room and we are separated with numerous walls between us.

I wait for my visitors, thinking about who might come to say goodbye, give me some last advice, but when a Peacekeeper alerts someone's arrival I get myself ready for all the tears that my mother and Prim will have for me. But when the door opens and my visitor steps in, my breath is taken away by surprise. It's…

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><p><strong>an: cliffhanger, i know. :) review?**


	4. Visitors

**4. Visitors**

Gale Hawthorne? Why would Gale Hawthorne come to visit me before the Games? He has never uttered a single word to me in his life, and now he comes to say goodbye? I stare at him warily wondering what he could possibly want with me.

He walks over and sits next to me on the dark green velvet couch. He looks at me and smiles as if trying to get my trust. I don't smile back, telling him that I don't trust him.

"So…" Gale begins, and then looks down like he's embarrassed. I look at him. He looks about 18, two years older than I and he is certainly handsome. Dark brown wavy hair, grey eyes that had a tinge of green, and muscular arms. Then I get irritated: these visits are timed. I try to get him to talk,

"Sooooooo…" I drag out the word to show him I want to get going.

He laughs and then looks at me intently. "I just wanted to come to tell you.. that…. I've always admired how determined you are to keep your family alive. And that I wish I could have gotten to know you better before …._ this_."

I am in utter shock. Why would Gale say this? At school and around town he always looked like he hated me. But I guess it was just his way with everyone.

"Thank you Gale. But, why didn't you tell me before? I mean, we could have probably hung out."

Gale looks away and then back, his face turning red. "Well, I was sort of scared to come around you. A lot of the guys around town admire you and think you're pretty, but are too scared to tell you. You are kind of… well…. Intimidating. You are with one of the most good looking guys in town, you go hunting, and you trade at the Hob. Not many people can pull that off with how scarce money is and how civil the rules are around here."

When Gale finishes his little speech, I'm looking at him with my eyes wide. _So this is why guys never talk to me_, I think_, they're half scared of Peeta and half scared of me._ I internally laugh at this. Gale looks like he's ready to leave, and so we exchange hugs and say goodbye. When he opens the door, he looks like he wants to say more, but then shakes his head and walks out.

My next visitor or should I say visitors is my mother and Prim. They walk in with red eyes and silent tears. As they sit I take each one of their hands and start giving them instructions. "Mom." She looks away at the sound of my voice. "Mom, look at me." When she does I continue.

"Mom, you can't give up again. You have to try. For me, for Prim. You can't give up." She nods, and know that she will try even though having to watch the Games on live television won't help her much.

I turn to Prim, "Prim, I don't want you to give up either." I take her face in my hands, "You need to get good grades at school, and you need to eat. For me. Do you understand?"

She nods and gives me a hug. Prim speaks, "You have to win Katniss, you have to!" Tears are now freely falling down her beautiful face.

" I will Prim. I will."

And with that promise, I give my mother a kiss and then Prim. The Peacekeeper calls them out; telling them their time is up. They silently go, neither of them liking goodbyes.

My last visitor is Peeta's brother Zane. He's only 3 years younger than Peeta and I, and I love him like a brother. He quietly walks over to me and gives me a hug. I hug him back, fiercely.

Zane takes my hand and says, "Take care of my brother Katniss, and take care of yourself. You both have the power to win this thing."

When I nod, Zane goes on, "I know Peeta thinks he can take care of himself, but there are some things he doesn't think about, and just rushes into. Take care of him. Please."

Zane is crying now. I tell him, "Zane I love your brother too, and I will do everything I can to protect him." He nods his thanks and the Peacekeeper tells him time is up. He gives me a kiss on the cheek and waves goodbye before exiting the door.

Now that I am by myself, I can finally let my tears come out. After a while, strong arms are around me, hugging me. I look up and see Peeta with love sparkling in his eyes. I stare at him questioningly.

Tributes aren't allowed to come visit one another before the train ride. "How….?" I trail off. Peeta smiles softly and replies, "I convinced the Peacekeeper to let me in seeing as neither of us have any more visitors."

Peeta hugs me tightly again and pulls me closer. I close my eyes and feel his soft lips against mine. Sparks fly as we kiss passionately. Peeta kisses my cheek and then moves down my neck and I shiver. It feels so good, but I know we have to be leaving soon.

I pull away and kiss him on the lips one more time.

"I think they're waiting for us." I say, glancing at the Peacekeepers standing outside the door looking irritated.

Peeta sighs and says, "I guess so. Let's go." He helps me up and holds my hand as we walk to the door and then to the train.

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><p><strong>an: longer than the others... you know the drill ;) review?**


	5. The Train

**5. The Train**

As we board the train, we are immediately in awe. Servants swarm the place, endless food rushes by, and the size of the interior of the train is unbelievable.

"Wow." Peeta seems just as surprised as I am.

I look up at him and grin, "Come on Peeta! Let's _explore_!"

Then I wink at him and run into the crowd of people. He follows after me, casually picking up samples of the appetizers. I stop and wait for him to catch up, and then grasp his hand exclaiming, "Peeta, this is amazing!"

His eyes are suddenly very sad as he looks at me. "Yes. It is amazing. I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances," he replies.

Oh yeah. The Games. I had almost forgotten. _Almost_.

I look around taking in all the sites of the strange Capitol people. Some had red skin, some had black eyeballs, and some had reptile scales and tails. It was sickening to look at. I averted my gaze, and to no surprise, Effie comes over to us.

"Katniss, Peeta, we have a very tight schedule! There is no need to get lost like that!"

I look and her and mumble, "We weren't lost we-"

Effie cut me off, "You need to be more careful! Now, we have dinner in Compartment 310 in ten minutes. Do you think you can manage until then, or shall I send a babysitter?"

She looked quite serious as she said this, so I bet she meant it.

"No Effie! I mean no _thank you_. I think we can manage."

I smile sweetly at her as she walks away, as to not hurt her feelings. These Capitol people seem pretty fragile, don't want to break them. Peeta laughs at my façade.

"Being a little fake, aren't you?" he says with a cocky grin.

I smack him lightly on the arm. "Shut up Peeta!" I exclaim while giggling.

He chuckles and then frowns. "What Peeta? What is it?" I ask.

He then leans down to kiss my cheek and whispers, "Well, we have ten minutes to do _whatever_ we like. What do you suggest?" he asks, stretching out the word _whatever_.

One minute later, Peeta and I are scrambling down the halls looking for an empty compartment to have some privacy in. We find one, fifteen rooms from our dining room, and deftly lock the door behind us. There are 2 beds, a desk and a comfy looking couch taking up most of the space in the room. Peeta walks over to the couch and sits down smiling, obviously inviting me to cuddle next to him.

He takes me into his arms and kisses me softly for a moment and then more fiercely. My hands are tangled in his hair, his arms around my waist. He lays us down on the couch still kissing me and holds me tighter against his body.

As I bite down on his bottom lip, he moans kissing me harder. His tongue traces my bottom lip and I let him in. Soon enough, our tongues are fighting for dominance, both of us breathing heavily. Peeta's hand trails up the back of my shirt and I have to stop him.

I break away from our kiss, "Peeta, we have to stop. Dinner is soon. We don't want to get caught."

Peeta grins and replies, "Okay. But one more thing."

He then kisses me passionately for a second and sits up. "Let's stop by our rooms before we go to dinner though. I want to check mine out." He helps me up and we walk down the hall.

Peeta's room number is 376 and we find it soon enough, although, as we passed the dining room, I stopped to grab a snack. He chuckles at this and waits while I get food. In his room, there is a queen size bed, a dresser, a desk, and a small couch.

Peeta sits on the bed checking for comfort (I know, Peeta is a little obsessed, but it's a part of him I love anyways) and he approves. We then stop by my room, Compartment 381, and aren't too surprised by the interior. It's the same as Peeta's although the bed sheets are a different color. I step in first and then feel arms around my waist.

I turn around and Peeta kisses me and then whispers, "Meet me in my room, at 12:30 tonight. I want to have some time with you before we are separated in the arena." Then he hugs me, and we walk to the compartment with our dinner and are surprised by what we find…

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><p><strong>an: review?**


	6. Lifeline

**6. Lifeline**

_Haymitch_. Haymitch is who we find. Sticking of white liquor, red liquor, any liquor you can imagine, passed out on the plush carpet laying in his own vomit. Peeta and I start laughing, for we know that this is the usual schedule with Haymitch: Drink, pass out, drink some more, vomit, eat a little, drink more, pass out again.

We stop laughing as the stench finally reaches our noses. It literally smells like a dead armadillo that was puked up and then eaten again and then puked up again. I grimace as I pinch my nose and turn my head into Peeta's chest. I can tell he is holding his nose too.

Effie comes prancing in to eat dinner and almost falls out of her ridiculously high 5 inch heels. She starts screaming for someone to come and "get this horrible smelly person" out of there. She looks so stressed that I can't help but laugh again.

She glares at me and mutters," I do hope that you two listen to what Haymitch says when he's sober enough to say anything. He's your lifeline in that arena."

Peeta and I crack up and both say," But he's never sober!"

Effie looks at us like we are crazy and replies, "Well then help him get sober! He's the only person that can keep you alive in there aside from watching your own backs!"

She saunters off complaining about the odor from the vomit messing up her hair.

When Haymitch finally comes to, he's covered in puke and looking for a knife. I guess he sleeps with one. Peeta decides that Haymitch stinks too much to stay for dinner, so he quickly takes him in to Haymitch's room, turns the shower on and dumps him in with his clothes on.

Peeta dismisses me, knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to recover from the sight of a naked Haymitch. Especially a naked Haymitch with nasty chest hair.

Peeta gets back to dinner a little late, but is happy to be there all the same. We eat a magnificent meal of lamb stew, mashed potatoes, spiced green beans, plums, and much more. For desert there is a never ending buffet table that I have to go slow on for fear of getting too full, and possibly exploding in the arena.

I give a quiet giggle at the thought of exploding. Peeta looks at me questioningly and I shake my head, pretty much telling him that it's an inside joke. We finish dinner and go to the compartment with the TV in it and watch the recap of the reapings.

I see some big muscular kid from District 2. A Career.

Another career from 1, a beautiful blond haired green eyed girl.

A fox -faced girl from 4.

A tiny little 12 year old girl from District 11 who reminds me of a bird, and the boy from her district, a dark skinned giant.

These are the only kids that really stand out. By the time the recap is over I'm yawning uncontrollably with head on Peeta's shoulder. He helps me up and to my room. When he leans down to kiss me goodnight he whispers, "Don't forget our meeting tonight. 12:30. I love you."

And then he walks out, quietly shuts the door, and goes to his own room leaving me wondering what he could possibly have planned for tonight.

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><p><strong>an: i love haymitch. :) do you? review? :)**


	7. Midnight Meetings

**7. Midnight Meetings**

As I lay there wondering, thinking of all the possibilities that Peeta may have planned out, the train shudders a bit. _Must be a rusty track_, I think.

Since its only around 10:30 pm, I decide to get a little rest before I meet Peeta. My room had an alarm on the side table, so I walk over to it, and set it for 12:25, since it should only take a minute or two to get to Peeta's room.

I climb into bed and close my eyes, almost forcing my body into a restless slumber. I toss and turn for a while, having troubling dreams about my father and Prim.

Time passes by quickly and soon enough, my alarm is blaring, setting me awake quickly. I jump out of bed and shut it off fast, hoping that the noisy thing didn't wake any other passengers. I unbraid my messy hair, and quickly re-braid it into a single one flowing down my back.

I get dresses in casual jeans and a dark blue t shirt and sweatshirt and quietly slip out of my room. Effie told us earlier that it is not permitted for us to leave our rooms after bed time or before breakfast, but I decided that if she caught me, she'd just have to make an exception.

I find Peeta's room and softly knock on the door. The door opens and blue eyes look at me in the darkness. Peeta lets me in and I am immediately in awe. Somehow Peeta managed to sneak in or persuade Effie to let him bring candles to his room. Peeta leads me to his bed and pulls me in for a tight hug.

He whispers in my ear, "Catpiss, no matter what happens in that arena, I am ready to die for you. I hope you know that." I pull back a bit to look in his eyes. They showed care, love, and worry. "I know Peeta. And I would do the same." Peeta then puts his hand on my cheek and pulls my lips to his.

It's a rough kiss. Rougher than any kiss we'd ever had. I knew it was because of the circumstances. We lay down on the bed, still entangled with each other. My hands were in Peeta's hair, his arms up the back of my shirt, his warm hands, rubbing my back gently.

"I love you Katniss." Peeta whispered, in a way that made me want to melt inside.

"I love you too Peeta." I whisper back. Peeta rolls on top of me. He leans over me, the question in his eyes, _is this ok? Are you ok with this?_

I kiss him again and nod. He starts kissing me again, while gently pulling my shirt up, but not off. His shirt is already off along with my sweatshirt that I took off when I came into the room. He tosses his shirt into the pile, kissing me the whole time.

After a while of making out, we both slip underneath his comforter, drowsy from the day's events. Peeta kisses the top of my head and tightens his arms around me, falling asleep. As I watch the shallow movement of his chest, I fall asleep thinking of the brutal arena;

Where fates were undecided and you could be killed in the blink of an eye; the hardest thing to do was think about Peeta, how much I loved him, and how I could lose him so fast.

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><p><strong>an: a little bit of peeniss fluff ;) review for me? also, if youve seen the movie, what was your favorite part? :)**


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